Cavities are not limited to the easily seen surfaces. In fact, cavities can form on the surfaces between your teeth. If left unchecked, these cavities form enormous black holes in the sides of your teeth, leaving you with quite an unsightly and blemished smile. Here is what your dentist will do to fix these particular dental problems.

Grinding Out the Damage

If these cavities have not damaged your teeth beyond repair, your dentist can use special appliances that force the teeth apart to get at the damaged areas. Then the dentist grinds away all of the worst of the damaged tooth/teeth. If the tooth/teeth can be filled in with amalgam, the dentist will do that first. If not, he/she will come at these cavities from a different approach.

Capping/Crowning the Teeth

After grinding away the damage, the dentist may cap or crown the badly damaged teeth. This is often considered a cosmetic procedure, since it requires a reshaping of a tooth and the application and fitting of a fake cap or crown. However, when the health of the affected teeth hangs on capping or crowning them, then the procedure becomes medically necessary and is no longer a cosmetic procedure.

Pulling and Replacing the Teeth

If the cavities between your teeth are so bad that no amount of grinding can rescue them and they are positively black and hideous, your dentist will pull these teeth instead. In the gaping spaces where your former teeth used to be, the dentist will work quickly to insert and install the screws for dental implants. After these short screws are in place, the dentist will pop the new implants on over the tops of these screws and then sew the flesh of your gums up around these implants.

Pulling the Teeth Prior to Partials

When the rest of your teeth around these few bad teeth are quite healthy and look alright, your dentist may decide that you only need a partial to fill in the teeth he/she expects to pull. You will first be fitted for a partial and then the teeth with the worst cavity damage will be pulled out. Your gums will be stitched to help them heal quickly. After your gums have stopped swelling up from the lost teeth, your dentist will have the completed partial fit to these missing spaces in your mouth. Even though partial dentures may be considered cosmetic, they too can be labeled medically necessary, especially if you cannot speak or eat effectively without the partial. 

To learn more, contact a clinic like Carolina Forest Family Dentistry.

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